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'Hugh Saw it Coming': SA Jazz Legend Masekela's Nephew on Westernization of African Culture
'Hugh Saw it Coming': SA Jazz Legend Masekela's Nephew on Westernization of African Culture
Sputnik Africa
For AfroVerdict's pilot we have a special guest, Mabusha Masekela, nephew of South Africa’s jazz legend, Hugh Masekela and son of the former president of Zambia, Rupiah Banda.
2023-04-17T17:38+0200
2023-04-17T17:38+0200
2023-04-17T17:42+0200
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'Hugh Saw it Coming': SA Jazz Legend Masekela's Nephew on Westernization of African Culture
Sputnik Africa
Welcome to AfroVerdict where you hear the voices of African experts, youth and prominent figures expressing Africa’s verdict on global issues around the world and on the continent
Mabusha recalls a Coca-Cola ad he saw in South Africa, which featured a school with lockers and a boy who surprised a girl with rose petals – a typical American setting. Mabusha points out that "Hugh saw it coming," and decided to establish the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation, his legacy that focuses on preserving African heritage. Mabusha, who is also an advisor to the board of the foundation named after his uncle, says it focuses on "reinforcing African culture, and remembering African culture, and where we come from, and how we put our societies together." Hugh Masekela was a South African jazz trumpeter who used his music to voice black internationalism, pan-Africanism, and anti-apartheid resistance. He went into political exile in 1960, soon after the Sharperville Massacre, where 69 people were killed. Hugh made his career in the US, where he became acquainted with the Beatles, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Miles Davis, and many other famous musicians. He was married to South African singer Miriam Makeba and wrote "Bring Him Back Home" dedicated to the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. Mabusha talks about the importance his uncle attributed to his roots by including elements of South African musical genres in his musical career in the USA. He believes that the ideas his uncle fought for are still essential in today’s world, specifically those of "loving your culture and appreciating culture as a whole." Culture is an essential part of a person’s very being, and Mabusha's view is that "there's an inner strength that one gets that contributes to your value system, to what's right, what's fair, what's good."He concludes with a strong message to African youth to remember that "there is value in where you come from, and where your people come from, and what your people have done."
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afroverdict, mabusha masekela, hugh masekela
afroverdict, mabusha masekela, hugh masekela
'Hugh Saw it Coming': SA Jazz Legend Masekela's Nephew on Westernization of African Culture
17:38 17.04.2023 (Updated: 17:42 17.04.2023) Viktor Anokhin
Producer, Podcast host
Welcome to AfroVerdict where you hear the voices of African experts, youth and prominent figures expressing Africa’s verdict on global issues around the world and on the continent.For our pilot we have a special guest, Mabusha Masekela, nephew of South Africa’s jazz legend, Hugh Masekela and son of the former president of Zambia, Rupiah Banda.
Mabusha recalls a Coca-Cola ad he saw in South Africa, which featured a school with lockers and a boy who surprised a girl with rose petals – a typical American setting.
"For me, none of the signifiers match what I've experienced and what I know to be South African ... culture. He [Hugh] became very concerned about...the Westernization of traditional South African cultures."
Mabusha points out that "Hugh saw it coming," and decided to establish the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation, his legacy that focuses on preserving African heritage.
Mabusha, who is also an advisor to the board of the foundation named after his uncle, says it focuses on "reinforcing African culture, and remembering African culture, and where we come from, and how we put our societies together."
Hugh Masekela was a South African jazz trumpeter who used his music to voice black internationalism, pan-Africanism, and anti-apartheid resistance. He went into political exile in 1960, soon after the Sharperville Massacre, where 69 people were killed.
Hugh made his career in the US, where he became acquainted with the Beatles, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Miles Davis, and many other famous musicians. He was married to South African singer Miriam Makeba and wrote "Bring Him Back Home" dedicated to the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.
Mabusha talks about the importance his uncle attributed to his roots by including elements of South African musical genres in his musical career in the USA.
"I always admired the fact that my uncle put out all these very African-oriented records, but he put them out in the middle of the United States of America," he says.
He believes that the ideas his uncle fought for are still essential in today’s world, specifically those of "loving your culture and appreciating culture as a whole."
"His influence is mostly about … being proud of your traditional roots, whatever those traditional roots may be," Mabusha notes.
Culture is an essential part of a person’s very being, and Mabusha's view is that "there's an inner strength that one gets that contributes to your value system, to what's right, what's fair, what's good."
He concludes with a strong message to African youth to remember that "there is value in where you come from, and where your people come from, and what your people have done."
